Civics & Government · 12th Grade

Active learning ideas

The Role of Staff and Support Agencies

Active learning works for this topic because the hidden structures of congressional work are abstract and complex. When students role play staff briefings or analyze real GAO reports, they see how legislation moves beyond election-year headlines into the daily work of experts. This makes the invisible visible and the abstract concrete for learners.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Civ.5.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.6.9-12

• 20–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 50 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Congressional Staff Briefing

Students are divided into 'staff teams' of three, each assigned a current policy issue. Each team researches the issue and prepares a two-minute staff briefing for their assigned 'senator' (a rotating student role). The senator then asks two follow-up questions, and the team must answer from their research.

Explain the importance of congressional staff in the legislative process.

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Play, assign staff roles tied to the bill’s jurisdiction so students experience how specialization drives the process.

What to look for

Pose this question to the class: 'Imagine you are a newly elected representative. How would you utilize the GAO and CRS to prepare for a committee hearing on healthcare reform? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of relying on these agencies?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 35 min · Small Groups

Document Analysis: Reading a GAO Report

Students receive a short excerpt from a real GAO report on a federal program and identify: the problem the audit found, the recommendation made, the agency's response, and whether the recommendation was implemented. Groups compare findings and discuss what follow-up accountability mechanisms exist.

Analyze how support agencies provide essential information for informed decision-making.

Facilitation Tip

During Document Analysis, have students annotate GAO reports with margin notes on nonpartisanship claims to practice evidence-based reading.

What to look for

Provide students with a brief scenario describing a policy challenge. Ask them to identify which agency, GAO or CRS, would be best suited to provide initial research and explain why, citing specific services each agency offers.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Unelected Power

Students write individually about whether it is a problem that unelected staff have significant influence over policy. After pairing to discuss, the class maps the range of responses and connects them to broader questions about technocracy, expertise, and democratic accountability.

Critique the potential for unelected staff to exert undue influence on policy.

Facilitation Tip

In Think-Pair-Share, provide a sentence stem like 'One task a staffer performs is...' to guide structured responses and reduce off-topic talk.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one specific task a congressional staffer might perform and one way the GAO or CRS contributes to the legislative process that elected officials cannot easily replicate.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by first making the invisible visible through primary sources like CRS memos or GAO testimonies. Avoid starting with definitions—instead, let students uncover agency functions through tasks. Research shows that when students trace a bill’s journey from draft to law, they grasp how staff expertise fills gaps in members’ time and knowledge.

Successful learning looks like students explaining how staff and agencies shape legislation, not just memorizing their names. They should connect specific tasks, such as drafting bills or vetting costs, to outcomes like committee votes or public policy. Evidence of understanding includes accurate references to agency reports or staff roles in student discussions and products.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role Play: Congressional Staff Briefing, watch for students assuming members write all legislation themselves.

  Use the briefing script to have students identify who drafts sections and who summarizes key points, then compare that with the misconception statement to correct it directly.

• During Document Analysis: Reading a GAO Report, watch for students believing GAO reports favor the majority party.

  Have students highlight language in the report that indicates nonpartisanship, such as references to bipartisan requests or critical findings about programs from both parties, to ground the correction in evidence.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Jigsaw
• Think-Pair-Share